Almost slipped
by reststillunwritten
Summary: Lord Hal meets someone who unleashes confusing feelings and his humanity almost surfaces again... but not quite. Hal/OC
1. Chapter 1

She was in her second dance and Hal couldn't take his eyes off of her. She swirled around the room and laughed, and her heart bit faster from the exercise. He felt his mouth watering.

"Snow is going to be pissed we're here." Fergus said to him, filling up his pipe and lighting it, blowing smoke up. "He said we should lay low after last week's ball. People are still talking about those three maidens found by the river."

By the mention of them, Hal remembered their screams and their pleas for mercy when they ravished and killed her. The memory of their fair skin stained with blood didn't bring the pleasure he felt at the time though, just emptiness and a sting from the hunger.

"Don't worry about Snow. I'll handle him." He said drinking his wine. The shallow taste of it just made his crave for something thicker and warmer stronger.

"If you say so, my lord. I think we're pushing our luck." Fergus said tiresomely.

Hal threw his arm around Fergus neck holding him tightly. "Lighten up, Fergus. This is a party and we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves." He said with an excited voice. "Now tell me, which one of these lovely ladies has gotten your attention."

Fergus smiled wickedly, forgetting his worries, and nodded to the corner of the room. There, a blond girl was chatting with another and pointing at people at the party. She couldn't be older than eighteen.

"Oh, she's lovely. Who is she?"

"The daughter of a local watchmaker, Lady Adele. Her father is drunk somewhere and her mother is flirting with one of the soldiers. It will take sometime for them to miss her." He said puffing another cloud of smoke in her direction. "What about you, my lord?"

Hal smiled crookedly and looked at him. "Guess." He said in a playful tone.

Fergus followed Hal's gaze to the dance floor and his smile faded. "Not Lady Charlotte?" He asked hoping not to see Hal's grim of satisfaction. "That's a dangerous catch, my lord. She's one of the richest maidens here. There are men here ready to duel for her next dance and she has a handful of bodyguards. It's probably impossible to lure her away from the crowd without someone noticing. And even if you can do that, her death will surely make a fuss and Snow asked us to lay low."

"Shush, Fergus. You're boring me with all that talk about Snow. Go get your watchmaker's daughter, I'll meet you in the old barn." Hal said, finishing his wine and leaving Fergus behind.

Hal focused on Charlotte again, savoring the sound of her excited heartbeat. She had left the dance floor and was now resting on a white sofa by the wall. A circle of people surrounded her, mostly men, lighting her cigarette and getting her drinks and eager to grant her wishes. The few women who enjoyed the status of being allowed inside her circle took gladly the attention of those men she ignored.

Fergus was right. She was a dangerous catch. There was too much light on her and too many people close to her. Yet, it was her whom he desired tonight and no one else would be able to satiate his hunger.

He placed himself by the fireplace and watched her closely, waiting for the right time to approach her. She danced again and strolled around the party with girlfriends, laughing and drinking. After a couple of hours most of the suitors had given up or were running errands for her and she was languidly laying on the white sofa with just a couple of girlfriends.

Hal stood up and walked to her, unable to stay away any longer.

"It must be tiresome to juggle so many suitors in one night." He said, sitting on the armchair by the side of the sofa, lighting up the cigarette she had just placed on her hand.

She looked at him a little surprised and smiled. "It is." She said accepting his light and he heard the drunkenness in her words. "But I'm getting pretty good at it, aren't I?" She asked her friends who gave her praise for her ability.

"It would be easier if they didn't bore you to death, wouldn't it?" He said and saw the spark of interest in her eyes. "All those men, praising your beauty and your charm and your wit. Crazy to get your attention and you just can't bear to hear or look at them anymore."

"You're mistaken, my Lord. I'm very flattered by their complement and their kindness." She said sucking on her cigarette and blowing up a ring of smoke. "I'm just a shallow and silly little girl." She said looking fiercely inside his eyes.

That surprised him. He did think she was a shallow and silly girl, but that statement and that fierce defiant stare didn't say something else?

"Oh, don't say that, Charlie. You're smarter than all of them." One of her friends said.

"And richer." the other said and they both laughed.

She ignored them and held her gaze. "Now that I told you who I am, sire, please be kind to tell me who are you and why were you staring at me for the last couple of hours?"

That surprised him again. She hadn't given any indicating that she had noticed him staring.

"I'm just another soul bewitched by your beauty, my lady. Ready to give you everything your heart desires."

She smiled condescending and looked away. "Another bore, then." She said with an annoyed sigh. "Pity. For one moment I thought you were something else."

"And what had you expected me to be, my lady?"

"Oh I don't know, something more interesting, I guess. A villain, perhaps." She said looking back at him and Hal felt her eyes piercing through him. "A dangerous man. A man who had seen darkness and wasn't fooled by glittering fake lights. A man who would be worthy to actually talk to." She smiled wickedly. "But you're just as harmless as all the others, aren't you?" the sarcasm was unmistakable in that last question.

Hal frown and looked back at her intrigued with her speech. He focused on her again, her heartbeat, her smell. She was human; her blood ran warm inside her. But his hunger was diminished by something else in there, something more than just the dazzling beauty, something fearless inside those piercing hazel eyes.

When she saw the anguished look on his face she burst into laugh. The others laughed with her even though they didn't understand. Hal stood unmoved.

"I'm sorry, my lord." She said with a wholehearted smile. "I'm just joking at you. We were talking about villains, and dangerous men before you arrived. Wondering where were they hiding. You were right after all, I am bored. So bored that I'm ready to leave this party."

Her friends wailed objections, but she stood up determined.

"You shouldn't do that, my lady." Hal said standing up too.

She looked at him curiously. "What shouldn't I do, my lord? Joke about villains or leave the party?" she asked.

"Both." He said glaring at her. "Neither is safe." He said, holding himself and the intense wave of feelings that assaulted him along with the hunger.

She smiled widely getting closer to him, and rising to the tip of her toes so her face was leveled with his. He could smell her breath, a mixture of mint, wine and cigarettes. It took him an enormous effort not to rip her throat right there. "Oh, you're trying to scare me, my lord? Sorry, I don't scare easy." she said and turned around leaving the salon without looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

The first guard didn't even have time to realize what was happening. The second went down just as fast. By the time he got the third guard the other two had understood they were under attack and they had to move to protect their passenger and themselves.

Hal felt the shot on his shoulder but didn't even flinch while he ripped the third guard's neck. When he turned to the face the other one he felt another painful shot on his stomach. He smiled wickedly to the disbelief in the man's face when a third shot hit his heart and he kept moving in his direction.

The guard called for God when Hal's teeth sank into his jugular.

"Run, Milady." He heard the last guard say.

Even though he had already killed four men, the bloodlust for her was renewed when he saw the scared look on her face and he heard the fast pace of her pulse. The guard put himself between Hal and her and emptied his gun on Hal, giving her time to run away, screaming for help.

Hal felt those last shots weaken him and almost fell to his knees. He moved to the guard fighting him and finally carving his teeth on his neck, feeling his blood making him good and stronger again.

After the man died he dropped the body and ran after her.

Her screams for help and the sound of her heels on the stone street were enough for him to follow. But even if it wasn't so her heartbeat was so loud on his ears that it almost muted all the other sounds.

There were no one else on the street at that hour, and if people heard her scream inside their houses no one came out to see. She ran to an alley trying to find a place to hide.

A few seconds after she hid herself in an entrance of one of the buildings of the alley, she heard his voice.

"Was that enough to scare you, lady Charlotte?" He asked in an amused tone. He walked slowly into the alley, knowing she was trapped. "You did say you don't scare easy. I just hope I haven't overdone it."

Charlotte covered her mouth to prevent herself from making any sound, ignoring the fact that he knew exactly where she was. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to think. She knew she was trapped and if she decided to remain paralyzed, he would kill her.

His steps were getting closer and she forced herself to fight that paralyzing fear. When she opened her eyes again she saw the pile of logs by the side of the entrance and decided to fight him back.

She moved to grab one but before she could reach them she felt hands grabbing her and pushing her back against the wall. She debated and tried to scream, but he held her strongly and placed one hand over her mouth.

"Shush." He ordered shaking her violently. "If you keep making all that noise, someone might come and that would ruin everything."

He held her like that for a few minutes until she realized it was useless to keep fighting him. When she calmed down he talked again.

"That's more like it. Now, I'm going to remove my hand and if you scream I will kill you. Do you understand?"

She closed her eyes. He shook her violently again. "Look at me." He ordered angrily.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. His eyes were green again, but the rest of his face was stained with blood that dripped from his chin.

"Do you understand?" He asked again under his breath, getting his face closer to her. She nodded and he removed his hand from her mouth.

"You're going to kill me even if I don't scream." She said defiantly at him.

He smiled. "Aren't you a smart girl?" he said looking her up and down. "And such a beautiful one." He whispered, running his fingers through her face, pushing the locks of hair from it and trailing her jawline to her neck.

When he touched the pulsing vein on her neck his eyes went black again and he felt the urge for her blood take over his thoughts. He was only able to fight the crave because he was full from the blood of the five guards. And because he wanted more than just her blood.

She held her breath and pressed herself harder against the wall.

"My God, what are you?" She asked.

"I'm the last man you're going to tempt." He said, staring at her neck but feeling another urge beginning to grow inside him.

"You are not a man." She spat.

"Do you even know what a man is?" He whispered in her ears, pressing his body against hers. His hands began to move down her body. She tensed when she felt what he was doing. "You play with all those suitors as if they were pets, as if you were Aphrodite herself. But you never had a man inside you, have you? So you really don't know what you're playing with, do you?" He pressed harder against her making her feel him.

She closed her eyes again, breathing deeply, trying not to panic, praying for strength to fight for her life.

"Don't worry, you're not going to die without knowing that feeling." He said menacingly pulling up her dress.

Collecting all her strength she pulled her leg up, kneeling him hard on the crouch. Hal bent his body falling to his knees with the pain. When she was free from his grip Charlotte grab one of the logs from the pile and stroke a blow on Hal's head as hard as she could. The blow cracked his skull and Hal fell on the floor, face down.

Charlotte ran from the alley back to the street crying for help.

It took Hal more than a couple of minutes to get to his feet again. When he got back on the street to run after her she had opened a good distance between them. He was too mad by hate to give up the chase and he ran after her, determined to ravish and torture her for a long time before draining her dry.


	3. Chapter 3

She was staring at the ceiling at the same position for more than one hour. Her back was beginning to hurt and demand some movement. She closed her eyes begging for sleep to come, but it didn't. Then she remembered that the last time she slept, nightmares of him hurting her invaded her dreams.

Again she thought she wasn't so lucky after all to have escaped him. If he had killed her she would be dead and in peace now. Since she escaped and was alive, the memory of him haunted her every second of every day.

Maybe she had gone crazy, like people have implied. She certainly wasn't the same girl that had left the house two days ago, careless and eager to enjoy another mindless party were men would fight for her attention. They always seemed silly to her. Even him.

When he approach and lit her cigarette, he looked like just another one of them. She remembered finding him handsome, but others were handsome too. His voice caught her attention: deep, smooth, and seductive.

A shiver ran through her spine and her body began to shiver. _Do you even know what a man is?_ That was what that smooth voice had whispered in her ears. Fear invaded her again but also guilt and anger for knowing he was right.

A knock on the door startled her. Nana, the governess, didn't wait for permission to pass through with a tray with a mug of tea and a plate of hot soup. "Brought you something to eat." She said.

"I'm not hungry." She stated.

"You need to eat something." The old woman said placing the tray by the table next to the bed.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Charlotte asked, watching the woman carefully setting the table.

Nana sighed. "I think you went through something terrible, a mad, evil man tried to hurt you and you were lucky to escape."

"But you don't think he had black eyes, fangs, wasn't hurt by bullets and wanted to drink my blood." She said angrily.

Nana sighed again. "It was dark, you had drank a lot in the party, maybe your mind played tricks with you."

Charlotte snorted. "I don't really need your condescendence. I'm not crazy."

"Of course you're not. But you're not used to be scared either. You've always been so brave and resourceful that maybe you need to believe that what happened to you was something made by something not of this world."

"You think I'm making this up to justify that I'm scared?" She asked offended.

"I just think you should wait for the police to find the man who attacked you and bring him to justice to explain what really happened, before you talk to the press again."

"I should never have talked to that reporter." Charlotte agreed, directing her anger to someone else. "He made me look like a hysterical and delusional woman."

Nana just nodded. "Enough of that. Just eat some." She ordered and Charlotte just ignored her again.


	4. Chapter 4

Hal saw a shadow cross the third window of the second floor of the house and wondered if it was she. He was too far away to know for sure, and since he had no idea where exactly her bedroom was located in the house, he could only guess.

He had been stalking the house for the last three hours trying to catch a glimpse of her. He was also watching the house movement and security arrangements to find a way to be invited in.

He was dry since the night of the attack and the hunger for blood was strong inside him. He was holding himself though.

At first he decided to do that because he wanted to save his hunger for her. He knew her blood would taste sweeter if he waited. But when the high from the blood passed, the anger and the desire to hurt her were replaced by a guilt he hadn't experienced in decades. Guilt for all that he was and all the hurt he had cause since the day he was made.

That feeling only emerged in him when he met beings like her. Beings that he didn't terrified. Beings who were so much stronger than him, who could look death in the eye and fight back.

He was impressed by her strength and her ability to survive him. More than that, he was glad she had managed to do that. Still, he couldn't just leave her be, not after what had happened. She was now a target for other vampires as well since she had talked to one of the journals and claimed to have been attacked by a blood-drinking monster.

"You shouldn't be here, my Lord." He heard Fergus voice saying to him, driving his thoughts away from his inner battles.

"Neither should you, Fergus." He said with controlled anger.

"In fact, I should. I was assigned as the army liaison for the investigation." He said with a sarcastic smile. "You do know that lady Charlotte identified her attacker as a soldier. So the army is doing it's best to be helpful to solve this mess quickly and clear it's name. Apparently it's bad reputation to have blood drinking mass murders in its ranks. Thought that would be good advertising. The enemy would be scared with that information, wouldn't it? Ah, I guess the troops would be scared too, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Hal looked at him worried, interrupting his rambling. "Are you getting inside the house?"

"I'm interviewing lady Charlotte in one hour. Apparently she has a clear description of the man who attacked her. So I'm going to make sure that description doesn't get to the papers like all the other gory details of what happened to her."

"You're not going to touch her." Hal snarled, grabbing Fergus by the collar. "She's mine."

"Oh, oh, calm down, my Lord. I'm just following orders." Fergus cried.

"Let him go, Hal." A husky voice ordered from behind a tree. After a few seconds, Hal could see the gray veiny skin of Snow, by the dim light of the moon. He kept looking until Hal released Fergus. "Go on, Fergus, go do your job."

"She's mine." Hal screamed to Snow.

"Keep the girl alive for now." Snow finally said and Hal calmed down. "Now leave."

The two remained silently staring at each other while Fergus walked away in the direction of the house. Hal was the first to look away and turn his back to Snow.

"You know, it's really hard to keep order when one who should be the example acts like you do." Snow began speaking softly. Hal didn't reply. "Of course, your fame among our kind is bigger as your fame with the humans now. The younger ones think you're their hero. The rebel old one, who terrifies humans. The old ones are sure you are a liability."

Hal smiled with the corner of his mouth. "Then make an example out of me, Snow." That would guarantee that he would not hurt her. It didn't guarantee that other vampires wouldn't.

"I probably should." Snow just replied. Then he sighed and changed the subject. "The girl exposed us. She needs to be dealt with."

"I'll deal with her." Hal said unsure if it was the desire or the urge to protected her that motivated that phrase.

"Not with another bloodshed. That will only give strength to her story. She needs to be discredited first, and that's what Fergus is doing."

Hal turned to Snow again. "No one else lays a finger on her but me. She's mine." He repeated.

"There're many others pretty girls to satisfy your lust, Hal." Snow said bored. "Go after them and let me deal with this one. I promise you I'll make her pay for embarrassing you."

Hal looked curiously back at him. That was what they thought, wasn't it? That he wanted revenge from her escape. It was probably better for her if they thought that than if they thought he wanted to protect her. "I'll wait if you promise me you'll let _me_ make her pay."

Snow looked annoyed back at him. Then he sighed beaten. "All right. When the time comes, and if she doesn't post more of a threat to us than she already is, you'll be the one to drain her."


	5. Chapter 5

She couldn't take her eyes from the red jacket. The only time she did that was to make sure that the man wearing that jacket didn't have black eyes, fangs and a face stained with blood.

He didn't. The man questioning about her attacker was blond, had crystal clear blue eyes and an over sympathetic smile. It wasn't reassuring though, because the jacket kept her seeing the only face she could see lately.

He said his name was Fergus and he was the liaison of the army.

"So, a captain? How can you be sure?" He asked.

"He had the insignia." She said flatly. "It was stained with blood, but I could see it." she said and saw a small mocking twitch in his mouth.

"Ok, so, a captain, five eight, dark hair, no mustache, no beard, green eyes. It's not really much, is it?" The man said condescendingly.

She carved her nails in the palms of her hands to prevent from scream. It helped.

"He also has fangs, drinks blood and is unaffected by bullets." She said.

Fergus sighed impatiently. "Right." He said with contempt.

Charlotte sighed impatiently too.

"Well, that doesn't fit anyone in our battalion, Milady." Fergus said.

"Right." She said, mimicking his contempt. "Maybe I'll have to go after him, then." She replied angrily to him.

A mocking smile formed in Fergus mouth. "You shouldn't do that, Milady." He said amused.

The terror of that phrase said in the exact same tone she had heard three nights ago attacked her again. She felt the air leaving the room and a cold sweat broke on her back.

"You'll make my job a lot harder if you get into his hands again." Fergus said.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing that hit him was her smell. He turned his head looking for her, and then he heard the sound of her heart. The crave for her blood instantly took over him and he moved instinctively towards her.

A voice inside his head screamed for him to stop, to control himself, because he knew he would regret what he was about to do. It was probably a stupid idea to starve like he's been doing for the last few days. He was hungrier.

At the same time, his mind hadn't been this clear in decades. He didn't want to kill her. He didn't want to kill anymore. He was too full of dread and loathing for himself that he wanted some time in peace and safety. He was tired of all the killing and all those faces haunting him for eternity. He wanted hope.

That thought made him stop. He had to control himself. His body reacted immediately to his reluctance to follow his instincts and his muscles began to spasm. Painful waves of hunger assaulted him, pushing him towards that tempting smell. He held himself in place, closed his eyes and concentrated, letting the pain overcome him.

Then he heard her.

"What are you're waiting for?" She screamed to the night. "I'm here. Come on."

He opened his eyes confused. Was she calling for him? He heard her heart beating fast and an unbearable wave of hunger made him fall to his knees.

"I'm not afraid of dying anymore." She screamed again. "Come on."

She wasn't moving. He needed her to move, to get out of his reach; he couldn't hold himself much longer. But she wasn't trying to escape him, she was calling for him and he couldn't resist that any more.

Slowly he resumed his moving towards that tempting sound and smell, until he could see her. His mouth watered by the sight of her smooth skin and he snarled at her, totally possessed by desire.

She stepped back when she saw him, but didn't run and that was so strange that he was able to access a part of him that still dreaded what he was about to do. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.

"Are you suicidal?" He screamed at her. "Why did you leave your house?"

"I'd rather die than to live afraid of you." She said with her eyes closed. Then she forced them open and looked at him. The braveness in her eyes cut him like a sword. For a second he was master of himself again.

"Go back inside, now." He ordered, pushing her away. He turned his back to her, taking deep breaths to control the beast inside him.

She stumbled backwards looking confused at him. "I don't understand."

"I can't enter your house. You'll be safe. Go back inside." He said under his breath.

"No." She answered, getting closer to him again.

He turned to face her. "If you stay here I'm going to kill you."

"I said I'd rather die than live afraid." she repeated and stood there looking at him. "So do it." She asked.

Another wave of hunger attacked him, but the absurdity of her request was enough to keep him in control. She was suicidal after all, and his brain was trying hard to find a problem in the thought that if she wanted to die, he didn't have to hold himself, nor feel guilty about killing her.

"I won't kill you." He whispered, because he couldn't find the strength to say it louder. She got closer and he felt all his resolve leaving him. "Please, go back inside." He begged.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked confused.

He burst into laugher. "Why am I doing this? Why am I trying my best not to kill you when you clearly want to die?" He looked back at her seeing her clearly in all her beauty. "I have absolutely no idea." he said beaten. "Maybe because you're not afraid of me."

She snorted. "I'm terrified of you." She said. "That's why I don't want to live anymore." her voice trembled and he saw tears forming in her eyes. "I haven't slept since that night. I haven't eaten. I have nightmares even awake. I can't think." She took a deep breath crying helplessly. "You've already destroyed me, so please end it, because I can't bare living like this." She spat in the middle of her sobs.

He walked to her and caressed her face. She flinched but held herself still, letting him touch her. He held her face with both of his hands, making her look at him.

"No one who's afraid of me can look me in the eye like that." He said calmly, ignoring the pain of the hunger. "And that gives me hope that maybe I'm not as terrible as I think I am." He said, than let her go stepping back slowly. "Now, stop this nonsense about killing yourself and go back inside. You'll be protected there."

She watched him step away and instead of relieve she felt anger for being rejected like that. The fear of him vanished completely and her hurt pride assumed control of her actions.

"I don't need protection from you apparently, since you decided you don't want to kill me anymore." She said angrily. "So maybe you'll do something else for me."

He laughed. "You're angry I didn't do what you wanted me to do, you spoiled little girl. You're very used to have men act as you command them, aren't you?" She kept looking at him. "So my lady, since I didn't murdered you like you expected me to, what else can I do for you?" he asked with heavy sarcasm.

"You said I didn't know what a man was." She said. "So show me, then." She dared him.

Hal's body reacted immediately enhancing the hunger, but also firing up the carnal desire for her body.

"You're completely mad, aren't you?" he said under his breath, fighting his urges again.

She didn't answer, just walked closer to him. Hal didn't move. He wanted to remain in control but her proximity was intoxicating. He focused on her fearless eyes to give him strength. But when she held his face with her hands he moaned with desire.

And when her warm lips touched his, his mind shut down.


	7. Chapter 7

He carried her further inside the woods and laid her on the grass of a clearance.

Tearing her clothes off was easy because she didn't fight. In fact, she even helped to loosen his clothes.

He wasn't used to that. Women were sort of a weakness for him, but he couldn't remember when was the last time a woman had given herself willingly to him. That made his conscience rise up again, but he was too far-gone to stop himself.

When he penetrated her, as he torn up the flimsy skin of her virginity, he covered her mouth with his hand muffling a scream of pain. The smell of blood hit his nostril and the hunger added an abandoned edge to his lust. He thrust rhythmically, pulling her closer and loosing himself in the pleasure of that dance.

Her body tensed with discomfort. The insanity of what she'd done hit her hard with that sharp pain and she panicked. She didn't want to die after all, and now, the fear of him was replaced by a new feeling. With him inside her now, tearing her apart, she felt completely conscious of herself, her body and everything around her for the first time in her life. She felt alive, like she had never felt before. And she realized she wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as she could.

His thrusts became harder and faster. She moaned with pain and he felt ready to reach his climax. He kissed her neck, tasting the salty warm skin, coordinating his thrust with the beating of her heart.

An explosion of pleasure made him scream, unleashing the beast within him that carved its fangs on her neck multiplying his pleasure to infinite, relieving his hunger with the taste of the sweet hot blood from her veins.

She screamed too when she felt the bite and her blood flowing to his mouth. She started to debate herself but he was too strong, too heavy for her to move. "Stop, please stop." She begged. "I changed my mind, please. Don't kill me." She began to cry helplessly beginning to feel weaker.

Her pleads reached that part of his brain that was fighting his own nature and Hal forced himself to stop. He got away from her slowly feeling his limbs heavy and the physical pain from the separation.

"Run." He said in a low guttural and inhuman voice. She tried to move but felt too tired. He turned to her, pitch black threatening eyes and a trembling red stained mouth. "Get out of here. I can't hold myself much longer." He said under his breath, clinging to the ground, pulling chunks of grass with his fingers. She looked at him confused and a little dizzy, feeling about to pass out. "RUN." He screamed to her.

A rush of adrenaline woke her up and she stumbled away from him, running back to her house.


	8. Chapter 8

The guards were just outside the house, and she had to call for help. Her voice failed the first time she tried and came out as a squeak the second.

After a few steps she fell. She crawled for a while trying to gather enough strength to stand up and keep going. When she was approaching the back fence of her house she felt a pair of hands grabbing her and lifting her up to her feet.

"What are you doing crawling on the ground like that, Milady?" The familiar voice asked.

Crystal blue eyes and a misplaced mocking smile. Her brain worked hard to remember who he was until she saw the red jacket and recognized the army officer who had interrogated her a few days ago.

"Looks like you hurt yourself." He said looking at her neck. "You're bleeding."

"He's out there. The man who attacked me... He's right behind me in the woods." She started to say.

"And how the hell did he get you in there?" He asked annoyed. "Snow is going to kill me. I can't even turn my head for a second to feed without Lord Hal getting into trouble. You know, it's a crappy job to babysit an erratic old one."

Charlotte didn't understand what he was saying. "Call the guards. He's dangerous. He's going to kill us all." She felt sick and her muscles gave in. He held her up and pushed her against a tree.

"Why are you still alive?" The man asked confused. "Did you escape him again? I have never heard of anyone escaping him before and you did that twice in the same week." He got closer and she realized something was wrong. "He must be pissed." He said with that mocking smile again.

Why wasn't him calling the guards? What was he talking about? Her brain fought to stay awake and figure out what was wrong with him.

"Tell you what: I guess I'll have to finish you off myself and let him tell everyone he did it. That way he'll be grateful enough that I saved him from another embarrassment to protect me from Snow, who will be angry with me for letting him kill you. What do you think of that, Milady? It's a good plan, isn't it?" He said pulling her hair away from her neck. "And I bet you taste wonderful." He said and his eyes went black and his fangs appeared in his mocking smile.

She tried to scream but was too weak and he carved his teeth deeply in her throat, making her choke with her own blood. She didn't have the strength to fight so she just felt the life flowing out of her with each gulp of blood he took.

When he was pulled away from her, she felt on the floor. Her vision was blurred but she could see Hal snarling angrily at him.

"I'm sorry, my Lord." He said surprised, bowing to Hal. "I thought you'd be glad I'd killed her for you."

"How would that make me glad, you fool? She's mine. You should have never tasted her blood."

"Well, neither should you. Snow was clear about that." Fergus replied defiantly.

Hal slapped him hard on the face. "Talk to me in that tone again and I'll make you eat your tongue." He said in a low but threatening tone.

"I'm sorry, my lord." Fergus simply said, bowing again.

Hal turned to look at her again. She couldn't move, but at least she was glad she didn't feel anything anymore. No more pain, no more fear, just a little bit of cold, but she was sure that would pass soon.

He lowered himself to look at her closely. Fergus had ripped her throat too badly. It was a fatal wound and she would be dead in a matter of seconds. The sorrow that came with that conclusion was the first thing he felt that was stronger than the hunger.

He bit his own wrist and pressed it against her mouth. "Drink it." He ordered, holding her head so the blood would drip into her mouth.

"What are you doing?" Fergus asked, without understanding.

Hal ignored him and kept pressing his arm to her mouth. "If you want to live, drink." He said and was relieved when he felt a little pressure from her lips sucking his blood. She did that for a while, but then her heart stopped beating and her head felt lifeless to the side.

He closed her eyes, pulled his arm, licking the blood from it and stood up, turning back to face Fergus.

He just stared back at Hal confused.

"I'm going to take her to the old barn. She'll be hungry when she wakes up. Find someone unknown to her and inconspicuous and take him there by dawn." He ordered, then grabbed her and adjusted her to his chest.

"Do you think she'll wake up? She didn't drink much, was it enough?"

"My blood is old and powerful. It was enough." He merely replied. "Now do as I commanded." He said waking to the back door and out of the house.


	9. Chapter 9

A ray of sun illuminated her face making her look just like a sleeping girl. Hal had done his best to clean up the blood, but the wounds hadn't healed properly yet. She needed to drink for them to heal up.

There was no pulse, no breathing and only a faint recollection of her perfume. Guilt stroked his conscience again but he shook it off. He couldn't afford to feel it now. She would need him to be what he was best. What he loathed to be.

He wouldn't apologize for turning her, although he regretted it now. If he had been less selfish he would have just let her die, not turn her into a soulless monster. Maybe, as a punishment, she would hate him for eternity. He was hoping for that. That was what he deserved.

She woke up, taking a deep breath and sitting up startled. When her hazel eyes locked on him, he was baffled by the realization that there was no fear in them, just confusion and curiosity. That made the guilt and regret stronger and he had to close his eyes for a moment to sigh them off.

When he opened them again he was just the same monster he had been for the last decades.

"Where am I?" She asked confused. "What happened?"

"You're in an old barn on the edge of town. No one comes here, so we're safe." He said calmly, wondering where Fergus was.

"Safe." She repeated like the word was new to her. "What happened to me?" She asked looking to her hands and taking them to her neck.

"You got what you wanted." Hal said coldly. "You died."

She looked back at him without understanding.

"But before that I gave you my blood so you would wake up from death and be like me."

"I feel sick."

"No. You're hungry." He corrected her. "You're going to fell like that a lot now. I'm going to teach you how to deal with that." He said and gave her a quick smile. "As soon as Fergus gets here, that is." He said standing up and walking around the barn. "He was supposed to be here by now, but he probably went to rat me out to Snow before doing what I told him to do."

"Fergus." She said and closed her eyes, remembering. "He was a monster too."

"Oh yes, he is. The correct term is vampire, by the way. That's what you are now, too." He crouched by her side with an amused smile. "Pretty sure the two of you won't get along."

"He killed me."

It was Hal's turn to look curiously at her. "Technically, he helped. I'm your maker, though. You must remember that."

She opened her eyes and looked deeply inside his. He smiled again and she smiled back, realizing she felt absolutely no fear of him anymore. She raised her hand to touch his face. "I remember." She said, remembering especially how she felt with him inside her. She leaned to kiss him, wondering if his mouth tasted the same now, and if she would feel the same with him inside her again.

He kissed her back and felt the desire for her burning inside him again.

The sound of the barn's door opening made him break the kiss.

"Sorry for interrupting." Fergus said tiresomely. "Here's breakfast." He said pushing a gagged woman to the barn's floor.

"A whore? That's the best you could do?" Hal asked disappointed.

"That's what I could find at this hour." Fergus said.

"What took you so long?" Hal asked standing up and staring at him. He was still angry with him for drinking Charlotte's blood.

"Not many people in the street." He answered lowering his eyes and avoiding Hal's stare.

"Who is she?" Charlotte asked feeling sicker. There was a drumming in her ears and she couldn't avoid looking at the woman crying on the floor.

Hal took one last look at Fergus than turned to her. "It doesn't matter. All you have to know is that she'll make you feel better." He grabbed the woman and dragged her closer to Charlotte. "Leave us." He ordered Fergus.

"Wha..?" Fergus began to complain, but held his tongue. He sighed frustrated and left the barn.

Hal forgot about him and turned his attention back to Charlotte. He grabbed the woman holding her still and pulling up her head up so her neck was exposed to Charlotte. By the sight of the pulsing vein her eyes became black and her fangs appeared.

Hal smiled amused. Then he pointed to one of the blue lines in the woman's neck. "Here, take one bite here. Instinct will guide you afterwards."

She looked back at him. "Am I going to kill her?" she asked.

"Yes." Hal answered coldly.

"I don't want to." She said and pushed herself away from the woman. A sharp pain in her guts made her bent over.

"You don't have a choice. That's what you are now: a killer." Hal said. "Now come here and take a bite. The pain will stop."

Charlotte shook her head closing her eyes, trying to ignore the needles in her stomach and the pounding in her brain. Then an intoxicating smell invaded her nostrils. When she opened her eyes she saw Hal's mouth red with blood and the woman's neck ripped off. Without even thinking she crawled to the woman and carved her teeth on the open wound from where the blood was flowing.

The feeling was indescribable. It was like drinking the sweetest of wines and the most refreshing water. It was better then all the food she'd ever eaten. It was better than everything she had ever felt before.


	10. Chapter 10

The sun had gone down again and only the light of the almost full moon entered the cracks in the barn's roof. Hal felt hungry. Charlotte was asleep in his arms and he nibbled the silk cold skin of her shoulder trying to wake her up gently so he could teach her how to hunt.

They had been in that barn for the whole day. After she killed the whore they had sex until she said she was hungry again. Hal sent Fergus to fetch someone else. He complained but brought a peasant that was hunting in the woods. They gorged on his blood and had sex again until the sun set down.

It could be just the high from the blood, but holding her in his arms made Hal feel happy. A feeling he didn't even think he could experience again. The guilt from the killings, from her killing, had gone, and he also didn't feel the urge to go killing everyone in town. He felt a comfortable balance inside him. Maybe he didn't have to be the monster nor the nice man. Maybe he could be just this, just in between those two.

Then, Hal felt the presence in the room and turned to the barns door. Snow was standing a few feet from them glaring treacherously. He had made no noise entering the barn.

"You can't follow orders, can you?" He said softly.

"She's not dead." Hal replied sitting up.

"Isn't she?" Snow asked slowly. The threat implied in those words made Hal tense.

Charlotte woke up and, when she saw the other man in the room she reached for her clothes. Hal stopped her, holding her close to him, without taking his eyes from Snow. She wanted to ask what was going on and who was that men, but the tension between the two was intense and she remained silent.

Snow walked closer. Hal remained still, considering attacking, even though he knew it was hopeless. He stood no chance against Snow.

Snow stared at Charlotte for a long time then offered his hand to her. She looked suspiciously at him then questioningly to Hal. Snow remained with his eyes on her and his hand open on air, waiting for her to take it.

Hal nodded to her and moved aside.

Charlotte gave her hand to Snow and he helped her stand. She felt vulnerable and exposed and tried to cover her naked body but it was impossible. He stared intensely at her for a while.

Then he gallantly kissed her hand and smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Lady Charlotte. I've heard so much about you. Especially about your beauty, and I can say it was not exaggerated."

"And you are?" Charlotte asked trying to remain poised considering the situation.

Snow smile wickedly. "You can call me Mr. Snow." He said lightly. "And you can vow your eternal loyalty to me now." He completed in a sinister way. She smiled confused. "Kneel." He ordered.

Charlotte looked again at Hal, unsure about what to do. "Kneel." He said.

"Why?" She asked with indignation.

"Hal, leave us alone." Snow ordered.

"You don't need to punish her." Hal protested. "I didn't have time to explain things to her."

"No. But you had time to kill two people and to fuck her all day, while the town organized a rescue party to search for her and the monster who took her." Snow said smoothly, moving his gaze from her to Hal. "Leave." He ordered again.

"I'll clean this up. You don't need..." Hal stopped talking when he saw Snow eyes turning black. That meant he was loosing his patience. Hal looked at Charlotte and saw the confusion and the plea for help. He couldn't help her now. Not when Snow had her so close.

He sighed frustrated, put on his trousers and left the barn, without saying another word.

Snow eyes turned back to blue and he looked back at Charlotte with a smile. "From predator to protector in a week. I'm impressed." He said, letting go of her hand. "And I don't impress easy."

"I don't understand." Charlotte said carefully.

Snow walked a few steps and picked up her gown offering it to her. "You can cover yourself now." She dressed herself and waited.

"You and your maker have made quite a fuzz in this town with all the carnage and talking to the press about it. Things need to be normalized." He said. "You have to normalize them."

"And how am I going to do that?" Charlotte asked.

"You'll impress me again, I'm sure." Snow said flatly. There was silence for a while, as if he was waiting for her next move.

"Why should I care about impressing you?" She asked breaking the silence.

Snow tilted his head a little. "Hm. I see what he likes in you."

"And what's that?"

"You're cluelessly inconsequent and overconfident."

"Is that a compliment?"

"No. It's a warning." He said unemotionally. "You'll do what I said until tomorrow or I'll rip you apart." He said walking to the barn door. "Oh. Tell Hal to explain things to you quickly. Next time we meet I won't overlook protocol." He said before walking out.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, what do you think we should do?" Charlotte asked after recounting her dialog with Snow to Hal.

"What he told you to do. Normalize things in town." He said, very worried about some pieces of the dialog. "I'm not sure how, though."

"Who is he? And what things do you need to explain to me?"

"He's one of the first vampires and the biggest authority for our kind. Whatever he says is law. It's protocol to new born vampires who are presented to him to offer him eternal loyalty and plead for a drop of his blood."

"His blood?"

Hal nodded. "He's one of the first. The vampire bloodline can be traced back to him and his blood has a powerful grip over us. Since I'm your maker my grip over you is stronger than his. If you drink a drop of his blood, he'll overthrow my power over you."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's like royalty. You don't question royalty; you just do what they tell you to do. After you drink his blood it will be harder for you not to do what he tells you."

"So you didn't just turn me into a monster. You turned me into a monsters who has to bow to another monster." She puffed.

Hal smiled with that remark.

"Why are you smiling? There's nothing funny about what I said." She said angrily.

"You're more worried about your new social status then about the fact that you are no longer part of the human race." He said amused.

Charlotte frowned at him taking in the meaning of his words. She looked again at the two bodies dropped at the far end of the barn. Flies were circling them. She closed her eyes and felt hungry again and with that hunger there was also guilt for what she knew she would have to do to satiate it.

"If I'm not human anymore why do I still feel like a human?" She asked.

Hal looked at her worried. From predator to protector, Snow had told her. He was right, as usual. He wanted to protect her even from the suffering of what she was now. For that he would have to teach her to abandon her humanity.

"You're clinging to human emotions. You need to leave them behind and accept your true nature. Otherwise you'll always be tortured by them." He said to his own surprise. How could he say that when he felt his own humanity clawing at his skin at the very sight of her?

She looked curiously at him. "Aren't you tortured by what you are?" She asked, reading his mind.

Hal swallowed, remembering the guilt and the effort he had made to keep her alive. He forced those feelings out, following his own advise. "I accept what I am. I have no other choice. Neither do you." He said slowly.

"Why didn't you kill me, then?"

Hal smiled crookedly again. "Because you're really good in bed." He said coldly and saw her expression change from sadness to hurt, and finally, to anger. He felt like apologizing but didn't.

The truth was that he tried desperately not to kill her and when he realized he had failed he turned her because he didn't want to be without her. He wouldn't tell her or anyone else that, though.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times before opening them again and standing up. Her gaze was fierce and fearless and Hal felt again a shiver of desire.

"All right, you need to tell me how to get to town again. I need to go home." She said, calmly changing the subject.

"What?"

"We need to normalize things in town or Mr. Snow will rip me apart, and I have a plan."


	12. Chapter 12

"That's bollocks." Said Fergus angrily.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Charlotte asked defiantly.

He didn't know what enraged him more: Lord Hal turning her into a vampire or Mr. Snow not killing her. For the moment, what was driving him mad was the fact that he was being forced to listen to her.

"It could work." Hal said. "If we could stage it properly."

"You can't be serious, my Lord." Fergus pleaded. "She's a silly girl, who has no experience or understanding of this world."

"Do you have a better idea, Fergus?" Hal asked too.

Fergus looked at him blankly for a while. He didn't have any other idea, but refused to accept the idea of a woman.

"Didn't think so." Charlotte said after a few moments of silence.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking cunt." Fergus spit, turning to her with fangs out.

Charlotte stepped back instinctively but kept staring at him defiantly, unmoved by his words. "He said we wouldn't get along."

Hal held a smile. Cluelessly inconsequent and overconfident, Snow had said.

"Stop that, both of you." He ordered, before Fergus decided to attack her. Then he walked between the two of then looking at Charlotte. "It won't be easy."

"If he does his job right," She said with contempt to Fergus. "you'll leave the rest to me. I'm sure I'll impress you too." She said with a cunning smile to him.

Hal smiled back amused. "You need to feed first." He said smoothly.

She tensed and looked away. "I'm fine." She said. "I need to get home before the rescue party finds the barn." She said. "And you got things to do, too."

Fergus snorted, not believing in her insolence.

Hal ignored him and pulled her head up, forcing her to look at him. "You're going to feed first." He said in a whisper. "Otherwise, you'll be so hungry when you get home that you'll kill everyone at your house."

"I would never do that." She said determined. "I would never hurt them."

Hal caressed her face slowly and sighed. "In any other situation I would be glad to let you realize on your own how wrong you are. But in this case we can't have that. So you'll do what I'm telling you to do."

She looked back at him angrily. Hal could see her struggle to not answer him back. She sighed deeply. "Of course, my lord." She said, mimicking Fergus tiresome tone with a hint of sarcasm.


	13. Chapter 13

She was staring at the celling trying to empty her mind of the thoughts that were assaulting her. It was ironic that a few days ago she was in the same situation, but the thoughts assaulting her were scary thoughts of Hal attacking, raping and killing her.

Now, the thoughts were also scary, but involved her attacking, killing and drinking the blood of her father, Nana, all the other servants, Lily, the governess eleven years old daughter, and all the guards.

Hal was right. She was starving and the sound of everyone's heartbeat was driving her insane. She had fed before going back as Hal had ordered. It was an old fat smith that she drank until she was full and Hal and Fergus finished off. It had been eleven hours since that. She had been in the house for ten.

The first three hours ran smoothly with her explaining to them how she was fine, how she had been wandering around the woods alone, that she had to do that to free herself from the fear and the images that were maddening her. That she hadn't been abducted by any monster and that she realized that maybe monster didn't exist. They were just creations of her drunken and over imaginative brain.

They seemed convinced and glad she was back home, even if her hands were ice cold and she didn't let anyone touch her any longer than a quick hug. More than that they might realize she had no pulse.

When Nana said that she should be hungry and that she would make some soup, the first sting hit her.

She said she wasn't hungry and that she needed to rest and hid inside her room.

Seven hours had passed and she hadn't left the room. Nana came once with food. Her father twice, insisting on her to talk to him and tell him where she had been and how she was feeling. She tried to dismiss them politely, but as they didn't she screamed and cursed for them to leave her alone.

Now she was clinging her fingernails to the mattress trying to fight the urges that were assaulting her. She imagined if that was how Hal felt when she first saw him. She understood the lust he must have felt, because she couldn't stop fantasizing about seducing one of the guards into some place private, and she didn't think any of the guards attractive.

What was taking Hal and Fergus so long to do as planned? It was past lunchtime and there should be word from Fergus by now.

If they didn't do as she told them to what would happen? She could not stay in that house any longer, she was hungry and the hunger was beginning to dominate most of her thoughts. Soon she would act on instinct and would give in to one of the many blood filled fantasies that were populating her mind.

A knock on the door pulled her back to the room.

Nana's heartbeat and smell invaded her senses. "Go away, Nana. I want to be alone." She screamed to the door.

The governess ignored her and tried to open the door Charlotte had locked from the inside. After a few tried she gave up and went away.

A minute later her father approached the door. "Charlie, please, open this door. There's a doctor here to see you, my dear. Just to make sure you're all right." He pleaded.

"I don't want to see any doctors." She said thinking how adding another heartbeat into that house would not make her feel any better.

"Miss Charlotte." Another voice called from outside and she thought she was imagining things. "I'm Dr. York. A colleague of Dr. Henrik. Your family is very worried about you, they said you went missing for a whole day, that you're not eating and they want me to talk to you. See if I can help." He said in a very soothing tone, but it was unmistakably him. "Now, open this door." The final sentence was clearly an order.

She stood up and walked to the door unlocking it. When she opened it she saw Hal standing next to her father and Nana, wearing a black suit, and caring a black bag.

She wanted to scream for everyone to run. She wanted to believe that she would be able to hold herself if he ordered her to kill them, but she feared she wouldn't. She was too hungry, and if he attacked any of them and spilled their blood she would probably give in to instinct, like she had before.

"Get out." She said to Hal.

"Now, Charlie, don't be rude. Dr. York just wants to talk to you and see if you're OK." Her father said concerned about her reaction.

"I promise you I mean no harm, Miss Charlotte." Hal said and he moved his gaze from her to her Father and Nana to make her understand he was talking about them. "I just want to help you. Ease your suffering." He said with a kind smile.

Charlotte saw the concerned expression both in her father's and Nana's face. How deranged she must be looking to them. She sighed, trying to calm herself down and gesture for Hal to enter her room.

Her father moved to enter with him. "Maybe it would be best if I talked to Miss Charlotte in private." He suggested.

"I don't see how that would be appropriated." Nana said, expressing in words what the look of her employer conveyed.

"Please, Dad, Nana." Charlotte spoke. "You want me to see a doctor, let him do what he thinks its best. I'll be fine." She said.

The two looked worried at her for a moment. The paleness of her skin, the black circles around her eyes. The fact that they haven't seen her eat a single thing the whole day. And decided it worth the try.

Her father grabbed her hand in a reassuring manner. "We'll be just downstairs if you need us, ok?" He said to his daughter.

She nodded and forced a smile.

When she closed the door behind her she turned angrily to Hal. "What..." He placed a finger on his mouth, indicating she should be quiet. He listened for a moment while the two humans walked away from the door.

When they were at a safe distance he spoke first pointing the bed sheet covering the dressing table mirror. "Subtle." He said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here? Why haven't I heard from Fergus yet?" She asked trying to keep her voice down.

"We had a few set backs. I said your plan was good but it wouldn't be easy." He answered calmly. "You're holding on impressively, though." he added.

She bit her lower lip. "I need to get out." She pleaded.

Hal shook his head making a sound with his tongue. "Your father and that scary governess won't let you out of their sight. They need to be sure you're safe. And sane, which is their most pressing worry, now."

"They think I'm crazy?" she asked.

"They said you're acting crazy. More than usual, apparently." He said with an amused smile. "With all you seeing monsters, raging insanely for days how they were just outside the house, then disappearing for a whole day and coming back all composed and smiles, just to turn hysterical and aggressive a few hours later."

"I didn't turn hysterical, I just..." She hesitated closing her eyes. "I can't stand being near them."

"They smell delicious, don't they?" Hal teased.

"You got to help me get out of the house." She asked.

"Can't do that." He said. "It will make them more suspicious, and for your plan to work they need to believe you are well. Remember?"

She looked desperately at him. "I'm hungry, Hal. Please." She begged.

"I know." He said turning to the black bag he had placed over her bed. "That's why I brought you some medicine to easy the pain."

He took from the bag a brown glass flask that looked like a cough syrup bottle. When he removed the cork the smell of blood hit her. She ran to him, grabbing the flask from his hand and drinking from it.

It wasn't as hot as the blood straight from a living body, but it was delicious. She drank the whole content feeling more relieved at each gulp. When it was over she sighed satisfied and turned to Hal.

"Do you have more?" She asked, leaving the empty flask on the bedside table.

He approached her and lifted her chin up examining her face. She was so beautiful and she belonged to him. That thought made him feel the desire for her burning inside him again. Then he leaned over and licked the blood that had spilled on her face and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back, high from the blood, and eager to let the anguish and pain vanish into a bliss of pleasure.

He laid her on the bed pulling up her dress.

"Stop." She said, holding his hand and breaking the kiss. "They'll hear us."

"I really don't care." He said, insisting. "If they bother us, we can deal with them and rethink your plan afterwards." He whispered maliciously on her ears with a wicked smile.

The sound of two knocks made him stop and turn to the door with black eyes and fangs out.

Charlotte pushed him away and he stood up stepping away from her and recomposing himself. She sat on the bed a second before Nana opened the door and entered the room without waiting for a reply.

"I brought tea and biscuits for the doctor." She said looking suspiciously at both of them.

"Thank you, Mrs. Davenport." Hal said, trying to sound polite, but failing. He wanted to rip the heart out of her chest for interrupting them and he was having a hard time holding himself from doing it.

"Thank you, Nana." Charlotte said too, keeping her gaze on Hal and fearing for the governess. "But Dr. York was just leaving." She said and saw the interrogation and then the fury in his eyes.

"Good." The governess said without hiding her disliking of him and his presence.

Hal looked at her and decided not to hold himself anymore taking a step in her direction. Charlotte stood up and put herself between them. "As you can see I'm fine now, Dr. I'm sure you have other business to attend. More pressing matters, perhaps." She said, looking defiantly at him.

Her absence of fear again managed to make Hal stop himself. He looked away and sighed deeply. Them he smiled calmly. "Fine." He said to her. "Have it your way, then." He walked to the bed to recover his bag and started walking out of the room. "For now." He added threateningly looking back at them before leaving.

Charlotte stayed still hearing his footsteps going down the stairs and then the sound of the door opening and closing again. Just when his smell was barely discernible she allowed herself to relax and give attention to Nana's demands of explanation.


	14. Chapter 14

It took another three hours for the messenger to appear and say Charlotte was being asked to go to the police station to identify the man they had arrested. They believed he was her attacker because he was found in the woods with a stolen army jacket stained with blood. He also had on him one diamond earring that he was trying to sell.

She agreed to go immediately, although her father insisted that it was already dark and she could go in the morning, after she was rested. She needed to get out of the house; she was starting to feel hungry again.

The police officers took her to a cell where a man was chained to the floor. Fergus was with them and he couldn't disguise his contempt for her. Once inside the cell he held her arm no so gently and she tried to shake it off, but he held on and looked threateningly at her.

In the stone floor of the cell the man Fergus had arrest was wearing Hal's jacket that looked too big for him. He had been beaten up and the smell off blood was strong in him. When she felt that tempting smell she understood why Fergus was holding her. She even clung harder to him feeling her resolve abandoning her.

The other officers and her father took that for the psychological strain of being confronted with her attacker.

The man looked nothing like Hal. He was blond, with brown eyes. Very thin, like he didn't have a decent meal in years, and he looked sick and crazy.

He was Hal's height but nothing else matched any description she has given of him. Then she remembered the only detailed description she had given was to Fergus.

She identified him and said he was the one who had attacked her, and then she said she couldn't stay anymore in his presence and had to go. The man looked blankly at her and mumbled a few incomprehensible words.

Outside the police station the press was already gathering waiting to hear if the attacker had been caught, but especially if he was indeed the monster she had described.

Despite the objection of her father, who wanted to resolve the matter discreetly, she agreed to talk to one reporter, the same one who she talked to before, to explain what had happened.

She said that the man arrested was indeed her attacker and he was nothing but an ordinary man. A crazy, dangerous man, who apparently drank blood from his victims, but he was no supernatural monster. She cried, happy that the nightmare was over and she could be free again.

The reporter wrote every word exactly as she said because she was so believable and no one, not even he would never be able to make up a story that good.


	15. Chapter 15

He was standing at a safe distance from the station but he could see the people gathering in front of it waiting for the news on the supernatural attacker of Lady Charlotte. When he felt Snow's presence next to him, he didn't move his head in his direction.

"Having her retract everything she said and giving the people a crazy guilty man to satisfy their hunger for justice. That's a nice plan, Hal." He said.

"It was her plan." Hal said.

"Impressive."

"Isn't she?"

"Is that pride I hear in your tone?" Snow asked. "Her influence over you is something impressive too. You're almost a different man."

Hal didn't answer.

"I don't think I like that man. He smells of mercy and misery."

Hal snorted. "I'm fine, Snow. I have my recruit to teach now. There's no risk of me... slipping again."

"Recruiting a woman in times of war is hardly a good choice. Especially a notorious woman like her. Makes one wonder what was your motivation."

"Clean up my own mess, I guess."

"How did you get her out of the house? Fergus couldn't explain that."

"I didn't. She came after me with a death wish."

"She wanted to be recruited?"

"She wanted to die. So she gave herself to me. I deflowered her and drank her blood."

"Doesn't sound like her. To give up without a fight." Snow said.

Hal snorted again. "Well, she changed her mind in the middle of it. It was too late, though."

"How did she escape you a second time?"

Hal didn't answered.

"Fergus said he found her crawling in the woods near her house with her clothes torn and her neck bitten."

"Did that rat also told you he drank the blood of my kill without permission?"

"No. He wasn't that stupid. He said he found her running back to her house and that he held her for you to finish the job, but astonishingly enough you turned her instead of killing her."

Snow waited for an answer. Hal looked at him guiltily, unable to find a plausible explanation for what had happened.

"I assumed you'd be angrier if I killed her." He said avoiding Snow's stare. "I turned her because it would be more difficult to calm the town with her dead."

Snow looked at him impassive.

"You can't fool me." He said patiently. "You didn't turn her to placate me or help your case." He shook his head and sighed disappointed. "This whole affair is just one disguised cry for help, isn't it? Its your humanity showing up its claws again."

"No. I told you, there's no risk of that. I learned my lesson last time. I won't slip again."

"Oh, Hal, but you already did."


	16. Chapter 16

She felt on the bed by his side and sighed deeply, satisfied. He looked at her still a little dizzy. The harder he tried to shun the feelings inside him the stronger they assaulted his soul and he felt to the point of tears and despair.

"So, when am I going to meet Mr. Snow again and swear my eternal loyalty to him?" She asked lightly and smiled so sincerely that Hal felt the bliss of being with her almost obliterating the agony he was feeling.

"He doesn't want to see you." He answered coldly.

She looked hurt. Her pride was too big for her to accept a man didn't want to see her. "You said he was impressed." She said.

"He is. That's why he won't kill you."

"I should be thankful for that, I suppose." She said with contempt, turning her back to him.

He pulled her closer by the waist. "You should." He said burying his face in the messy curls of her hair. There were still a couple of hours till sunrise and he wanted to enjoy them. They lied there for some time.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked breaking the silence and turning to face him.

He looked at her sadly for a few moments. She was so beautiful and she made him feel so good. That was what Snow didn't want.

A tamed monster was almost as bad as no monster at all.

He let those good feelings invade him one last time then he sighed and moved away from her standing up and looking for his clothes.

She sat up confused. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm leaving with the army at dawn." He said bluntly. "Most of the vampires in the unit are going. Snow is going so I have to go too."

"What about me?" She asked nervously.

"You'll stay." He said without looking at her. "We can't take you with us, after all. A rich girl has no place in the field of battle."

Despair invaded her and she took deep breaths to calm herself. She need to think of some way to prevent him from doing what he was intending to do. Nothing came to her, though.

"You're going to leave me?" She asked, but it was an affirmation, and Hal decided silence was the best way to confirm it. "You can't do that." Her voice trembled giving away her feelings. "What am I supposed to do alone here?" She cried.

"You'll keep up the charade with your family for a few more months, until the dust of the story has completely settled." He said coldly avoiding to look at her. He knew that if he did he would not be able to go through with what he had to do. "Then you can do whatever you want."

"I can't do that." She said feeling tears of anger and despair falling down her cheek. She stood up trying to cling to him. "You can't leave me here." She begged, forgetting her own pride.

Hal shook her off and stepped away from her, her proximity made everything harder so he had to be at a safe distance. "Stop that." He ordered harshly. She held her sobs but her body began to tremble with a mixture of heartbreak and rage.

"You can't do that." She whispered repeatedly trying to control herself. "You can't do that to me." She screamed angrily, turning to him.

Hal sighed, gathering all his strength and finally looking at her. "I can do whatever I want with you." He said slowly and gravely not giving any sign of the effort he was making. Being bad was natural to him. He stepped at her direction facing her fierce stare. "I'm am Henry Yorke, one of the old vampire lords, and your childish tantrums don't affect me like they might affect your ridiculous sect of suitors."

She felt an urge to step back as he approach but remained looking at him defiantly.

"I am your maker and you'll gladly do as I tell you." He continued.

"Fuck you." She spat.

Hal smiled amused. "That's more like it." He said mockingly, and then turned away from her, finishing dressing up. Leaving her angry with him was easier. Not much, though. "You have a strong will. If you feed discretely you'll be able to fool everyone for a long time." He said. "Or not. As long as you don't expose us again, you can move into a brothel or do whatever you want to get an easy kill. Dark alleys are the best. But old acquaintances can also work."

She closed her eyes, trying to tune him out and regain control of herself.

"Well," He sighed. "I'll be going then." He finally said and walked to door of the barn.

"Please, don't go." She pleaded with a sweet and heartbreaking voice, open her tearful eyes.

Hal stopped feeling his resolve leaving him. He had to be strong and keep walking. Snow would kill her if he didn't show up on time.

"You'll be fine." He said turning his head back and looking at her, not caring if his cold mask was still up or not. He gazed at her one last time feeling his heart break, then left.

She felt to the floor crying helplessly and wishing once again for death but knowing death wouldn't find her anytime soon.


End file.
